Foldable seat



July 23, 1940. J. A. STEELE FOLDABLE SEAT Filed 001:. 20, 1938 Patented July 23, 1940 TED-"sur s Q IA'QF'F'ECE i 2,208,777 a FoLDABLE- SEAT ja e'sn. steeiesanLakeeityfumn" "Application October 20, 1938, Serial No. 236,075 I 1, Claim. '(o1.1 I5+-i 5'3 )f Y Thi s inyention relates generally to the class of chairs and seats and pertains particularly to an improved portable seat.

The present invention has for its primary object to provide a light weight portable folding seat which is designed primarily for use in stadiums or similar structures and is so constructed as to provide an easy or soft seat bottom which guarantees the maximum comfort to the occupant when placed upon the usual stadium seat or other hard bottom seat structure.

Another object of the invention is to provide a light weight folding seat of the above described character which is provided with a back portion which may be folded into inoperative position upon the bottom of the seat when the latter is not in use or is to be carried about and the seat as a whole is so designed that it may be easily and economically constructed but will at the same time be strong, durable and comfortable.

The invention will be best understood from a consideration of the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing forming part of this specification, with the understanding, however, that the invention is not to be confined to any strict conformity with the showing of the drawing but may be changed or modified so long as such changes or modifications mark no material departure from the salient features of the invention as expressed in the appended claim.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a view in perspective of the portable folding seat embodying the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation of the base portion of the seat with the back removed.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing, the numeral I generally designates a support for the seat embodying the present invention, which support may be a stadium seat or any other structure upon which the foldable seat may be placed.

The folding seat comprises a base or bottom frame indicated generally by the numeral 2 and made up of the spaced parallel side bars 3 and the transversely extending front and rear bars 4 and 5, respectively. Each end of each side bar 3 is cut away upon the top and underside thereof so as to form the recessed or notched portions 6 in which the ends of the adjacent cross-bars position, as illustrated, and it will be noted that the ends of the rear cross-bar 5 project outwardly beyond the side bars 3 upon which it is supported so as to provide stops or shoulders I for maintaining the back structure, which is indicated generally by the numeral 8, in upright position; These front and rear-bars 4 and 5 are of sube stantially the same thickness as the side bars 3 but, when their ends are placed in the notches 6, they will extend above the top surfaces ofthe 5 side bars as shown and thus'the top surfaces of the front and rear bars will be in a plane a substantial distance above the surface of the supporting structure I upon which the seat is placed and will thereby keep the fabric web 9 which is 10 secured to and supported between the front and rear bars d and 5, at such a distance above the support i, that the weight of an occupant of the portable seat will not stretch the fabric material to a sufiicient extent to touch the underlying 1i supporting structure. Thus the occupant will be guaranteed a soft and comfortable support.

The notches 6 formed upon the undersides of the side bars 3 provide an area in which the nut E9 of a securing bolt l I positions, the bolts passing through the crossed ends of the bars making up the frame. Thus it will be seen that the side bars 3 rest firmly upon the support I and the nuts it] cannot interfere with the firm placement of the folding seat. 25

The seat bottom web 9 may be connected in any suitable manner to the front and rear bars as, for example, the ends of the web may be carried partly around these bars and secured to the undersides or to the inner faces thereof and 30 it will also be understood that when the web is initially placed upon the bars 4 and 5 of the frame, it will be drawn tight so that when sag occurs as a result of use, it will not sag to such an extent as to come into contact with the body I upon which the seat may be placed.

The back 8 consists of a metal frame having side uprights or side portions l2; which are joined together by the arcuate yoke portion l3 and the free ends of the side portions are turned inwardly 40 to form the right angular terminal pivot ends M which are inserted into suitable openings in the outer sides of the side bars '3 just in front of. the shoulders I which are provided by the extended ends of the rear bar 5 and these shoulders are cut away or notched slightly, as indicated at I5, and the side bars l2, when the back is in upright position, rest in these notches.

The bars l2 of the back frame have connected therebetween the fabric strip or Web l6 which is drawn tight between the bars and which is forward of the yoke portion l3 which is rearwardly bowed, so that when an occupant of the seat leans back against this web, his back will not come in 55 contact with the yoke or bar l3 which connects the side bars of the frame together. From the foregoing, it will be readily appar ent that the back portion 8 of the seat may be folded or swung down upon the top of the seat portion when the portable seat is not in use so that it may be readily carried about and also it will be apparent that when the seat is placed upon a support such as the seat of a stadium structure, the occupant will be supported above the stadium seat so that he will not be subjected to the coldness of the supporting stadium structure as would be the case if his body came into direct contact therewith and in addition, the seat will provide a soft supporting structure which makes it possible for it to be occupied for a considerable length of a time without discomfort.

What is claimed is:

A foldable seat of the character described, comprising a base frame having two spaced parallel side-bars each of which has a notch cut therein at each end, spaced parallel front and rear bars disposed perpendicularly to the side bars and having their ends resting in notches in the adjacent ends of the side bars, said rear bar having its ends extended beyond the outer sides of the side bars, said rear bar having the forward faces of the extended portions of the ends cut to form upwardly and rearwardly inclining shoulders, the tops of the front and rear bars being disposed in a plane lying above the tops of the side bars, a strip of fabric material connected between the front and rear bars and secured thereto to form a seat bottom lying in the plane of the tops of the front and rear bars, and a back comprising spaced side bars and a web connecting the same, the ends of said side bars being pivotally attached to the outer sides of the first-mentioned side bars forwardly of said shoulders and adapted to bear against said shoulders to be maintained thereby in an upwardly and rearwardly inclining position with respect to the seat bottom.

JAMES A. STEELE. 

